May Book Discussion: “Queen’s Gambit” by Elizabeth Fremantle

Copies of this month’s book are available at either library and participants are encouraged to read the book and post their comments anytime during the month. These discussions are open to the public and all participants are welcome. The comments will be monitored before they are posted. Contact Marty Hubbard with any questions: mhubbard@ledyard.lioninc.org

May’s title is Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle:

Intrigue, romance, and treachery abound in Fremantle’s debut novel as Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, walks a fine line between passion and loyalty. Married to an aging king with a penchant for discarding wives, she must learn to navigate the often perilous intricacies, suspicions, and ambitions of a divided Tudor court. Though passionately in love with dashing courtier Thomas Seymour, Katherine shrewdly adapts to her new role, becoming a positive influence on Henry while arousing the ire of many of his advisors. (Booklist)

I enjoyed the book very much. Great writing, descriptive and informative. It can be read and enjoyed as a straight novel, but I also appreciated the historical information the author included at the back of the book. Anyone who enjoyed this novel would probably also enjoy the current TV show, “Reign” on the CW, which is about the young Mary, Queen of Scots.

And one other quick note – this book has both a list of characters in the book and a timeline of important dates 1509-1549 at the end of the book. I don’t know about any other readers yet, but I could easily get confused even knowing that there are multiple Catherines/Katherines and Elizabeths and Margarets in this period of History.

And a question to ponder, knowing how scared many were of King Henry’s ” issues with anger” would you have been able to cajole and stand up to him, try to educate him, or stay alive in that time period, were you his wife, or Will Parr, or another strong male in court?

For individuals who forget the dates and names of Henry VIII’s wives here they are with some links. This visual graphic created by Laura E. Eakins @ 1995-2014 is an excellent page to keep around as and refer to as you are reading this book.

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